1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for automatically recording the time of operation of each vehicle in a fleet of motorized vehicles, automatically and electronically extracting the recorded aggregate time of operation along with a unique vehicle identification number and time and date of extraction, and automatically and electronically transferring that information into a computerized vehicle maintenance record.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many commercial and industrial enterprises fleets of vehicles are often employed to perform various tasks. Different businesses often utilize a number of different vehicles within a fleet which are operated by different operators. As a consequence, no single operator is adequately familiar with the extent of operation of any particular vehicle to be in a position to call attention to the need for preventative maintenance. Furthermore, many operators of vehicles within a fleet are not qualified or knowledgeable concerning preventative maintenance requirements.
Nevertheless, preventative maintenance is extremely important for maintaining vehicles within a fleet in good operating condition by avoiding costly breakdowns. When a vehicle is forced out of service suddenly due to a breakdown, there is typically a considerable disruption to the business at hand. By performing routine preventative maintenance, however, costly repairs and disruptive delays due to the unavailability of vehicles within a fleet can be avoided. The need for preventative maintenance is largely dependent upon the extent to which a vehicle has actually been in operation since the last time preventative maintenance routines were performed on it.
One case in point illustrative of the benefits of preventative maintenance is in a situation where a fleet of forklift vehicles are utilized in warehouse operation. Forklifts are typically operated by different operators for differing periods of time. Keeping track of the extent to which each forklift has been operated since the most recent performance of preventative maintenance routines is a problem.
According to present practice a forklift is provided with an hour meter that is actuated by either the vehicle ignition switch or engagement of the power steering. In order to organize a preventative maintenance schedule, paper records are manually kept recording the time of operation of the hour meter of the vehicle. On a regular basis, for example weekly, the hour meter is read and its readings are recorded on paper along with the vehicle identification. The information kept on paper records concerning operation of the vehicle is then provided as a manual input to a data processing system, which uses this information to schedule vehicle servicing. A conventional computerized program establishes a schedule for certain preventative maintenance tasks to be performed, depending upon the recorded hours of operation since the last such task was performed on each specific vehicle.
The principal problem with manual record keeping concerning the operation of specific vehicles within a motorized fleet of vehicles is that systems based upon manually compiled records are quite unreliable. Mistakes are often made in the initial manual recordation of information read from hour meters and other instruments. Further mistakes are also made in transcribing these records from paper and inputting them as data into a computer system. Figures are often illegible or written in the wrong place. Also, because a manual compilation system is quite time consuming, information derived for some vehicles is often incomplete or not even recorded at all. Consequently, the practice of manually taking visual readings from meters in a vehicle, writing these records on paper, and transcribing the paper records as inputs to a computer keyboard have proven quite unsatisfactory.
Attempts have been made to automate the record keeping of data necessary to administer an adequate vehicle preventative maintenance program. For example, in some systems an onboard computer in the vehicle calculates and logs information from various sensors on the vehicle and provides this information to a combination card reader and writer. The card reader provides printed cards as an output which are then taken to a central computer for compilation of management ledgers and the display of data for the various vehicles in the fleet. However, such a system is extremely expensive, since each vehicle must be provided with an onboard computer and card reader and writer.
Other systems have been devised that accumulate data concerning operation of the vehicle onboard the vehicle and transmit that data using radio frequency or infrared data transmission. However, such systems are also inordinately expensive. Furthermore, they very frequently are subject to radio frequency or optical interference that corrupts the data being transferred.